Home sales are down in 2nd quarter

Home sales for the second quarter of this year in the state fell 10.5% compared to the same three-month period of last year.

But the clear message here is that if you took the first quarter of ’09 versus ’08, they were down substancially more. So we’re starting to see a bottoming out.”

Bill Malkasian, President of the Wisconsin Realtors Association, says existing home sales fell 22.6% in the first quarter of this year. This most recent drop in sales is the smallest reduction in the last few quarters. Malkasian says the state housing market is actually showing signs of stabilization, with help from the $8,000 tax credit, and low mortgage rates.

“We think that probably the third and fourth quarter are gonna be substancially stronger than they were a year ago.”

Some real challenges, he says, include the 9% unemployment rate, jumpo mortgages, and tighter credit. Malkasian says, along with decreased sales, home values were down. The price of a median-valued home dropped 9.9% to $146,000.